Antonio Velazquez

For my community Connection project I decided to interview with Antonio Velazquez, a former waiter who loved working in a Mexican restaurant called Nopalito. The past years he has worked and now provides food to the customers as a cook. His responsibilities as a waiter included taking guest orders, welcoming and seating guests and memorizing the menu. His new responsibilities as a cook involves prepping the meals, cooking, preparing the ingredients for the recipes and making sure that the kitchen and equipment are properly cleaned.

I chose to interview Antonio because I would like to become a cook and I am willing to get his advice about it. My aunt is a good friend with him so it helped me contact him and find a good time to do a interview. My passion is becoming a cook since my parents inspired me from cooking me such delicious meals. I’ve always wanted to get better at cooking so that’s why I would like Antonio’s advice since he knows how to make delicious meals and can help me choose which path I want to take through my career.

Questions I asked him were…..

Question 1:

Can you explain your roles and responsibilities with your current position?

His answer was ” Right now I’m a cook and I try to make food that is enjoyable for the customers. My responsibilities are making sure the food is prepared for the recipies that we make, and trying to cook food in a timely manner.”

Question 2:

What obstacles have you faced to get you where you are today?

“While learning how to cook can be hard and is very stressful when it comes to preparing the food and cleaning around the kitchen. If you can’t handle the stress when restaurants gets busy, it might not be a good fit for you. Before becoming a cook I was a waiter who was very interested in cooking and it was hard for me to become a cook because of all the hard work and long hours you do.”

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Question 3:

What advice would you pass on to someone interested in what you are doing?

“Some advice I would like to give someone as a cook would be, practicing at home making certain recipes to become a better chef. It might be difficult in the beginning but it will get easier along the way if you constantly make recipes frequently.”

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Question 4:

Why are you passionate about your job or role?

“The reason I’m passionate about being a cook is because I enjoy seeing the expressions of my customers when they taste the food. It makes me realize how happy I can make someone easily and it gives me joy.”

Question 5:

What is your favorite dish that you enjoy eating/making?

“Even though it’s not a choice for the menu, my favorite dish would have to be tlayudas because it has many of my favorite Mexican ingredients such as quesillo, chorizo, beans, and many other things.”

Question 6: What do you enjoy about being a cook?

“Like I said in the fourth question I enjoy it when people enjoy the food I make for them. Something I also enjoy about being a cook is that I get to learn many more dishes to make.”